The Truth Comes Out After All
by CastielIsMyAngel13
Summary: Detective Marty has been overlooked and not valued by his team for quite some time now. Its only in the face of advesary that they realize what they have done. Features some Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo
1. Chapter 1

As a child, Marty deeks often never felt like he belonged anywhere, his rough childhood was a huge impact on that, but also so was how the people at LAPD treated him. Everyone there treated him like shit. They sent him on missions that no one else wanted, and never gave him sufficient back up when he needed it most. When he got the offer for NCIS, he felt wanted for the first time in many years. But with that came the downsides, like Agent Sam Hanna, who never trusted him, or was nice to him. He tolerated the surfer but never openly approved of him, or invited him to barbecues that the rest of the team went to. Deeks accepted it, he wasn't one of them, his badge said LAPD, instead of NCIS.

Callen seemed neutral towards him, he wasn't against the surfer man, but he offered no real advice or help apart from when they were in the field. Deeks didn't mind, Callen was a very private man and was often doing extra work for Hetty because he was team leader, he didn't need the shaggy little orphan boy tagging along for help, asking about things.

Eric was very friendly to Deeks, but that was also his personality. Deeks may call Eric a few nerdy names, but it was all in good fun, because the tech savy man was incredible at his job and kept them all out of harms way and was important. They had a good relationship, as they would ask each other about their weekends and the waves, as both of them surfed. It was more of a secret that Eric surfed, as no one had him pegged as a man that did anything outside of a temperature controlled room with a computer and keyboard, and just thought the man liked the surfer look and personality.

Nell was a sweetheart to everyone, Deeks especially. The others would give him a bit of crap for it when they noticed but they didn't know how far Nell went when she would check on Deeks. Every time LAPD wanted him to go undercover, she would always check the status of his aliases so he was never in danger, and would make sure that he was always backstopped, Something LAPD often failed to do for him. She would also talk to him about the best surfing locations and wave report, so that he was always informed, though he was quite smart and knew when to stay out of the waters, especially on days like today.

Today was an extremely rough day, the case had not ended well, and his team had put blame towards him. How was he supposed to know that the suspect would recognize him from LAPD and then run, and cause a huge shooting in downtown LA, killing one civilian and one fellow officer. He had done everything in his power to stop that, and to get the suspect to stop but it was to no avail- he ran. The team, mostly Sam blamed him. No one spoke to him, no one realized he was bleeding; he'd been hit in the crossfire.

It was not a life-threatening wound, but he was bleeding nonetheless. They all also left without him, leaving him to deal with LAPD, none of which noticed that he was bleeding, they all assumed it was someone else's blood. Once the paperwork there was done, he said screw it and went home. Hetty called, wanting to know where he was but he replied, "dealing with LAPD." Which was more of a lie since he was in his bathroom, trying to pull a bullet out of his forearm with tweezers. It was beyond painful, as he had to dig around and find it and yank it out so that it didn't get infected. Once it was finally out, he poured alcohol all over it to keep it clean and then sewed himself up- all done himself. Hetty later called again and said, "Mr. Deeks, have your report emailed me by tonight, but you are to report to me first thing in the morning tomorrow." He agreed and got to work typing it out on his laptop. Once it was neat and proof read, he sent it in, not noticing that it was nearly 12 in the morning.

Turning his computer off, he lay down but couldn't sleep. He couldn't close his eyes without flashes of today going by. Instead of him getting injured, he saw his teammates die, and it was his entire fault. Since sleep was no option, he grabbed his surfboard and went out. It was high tide and quite dangerous, and still quite dark, he surfed for a bit before laying in the sand, he felt at home, like for once, he belonged. The ocean belonged to no one; it was simply a wild and strong entity that kept going and never stopped, something that resonated in him.

No matter how shitty things were, he kept going, never stopping. He'd been tortured, shot, stabbed, all of it, and he kept going. Sam was a seal and went through hell and back, so had his wife, Marty Deeks could suck up a gunshot wound and carry on.

Going back to his small apartment, he took a shower, nearly forgetting about his wound until he moved his arm, he'd forgotten about the wound and went into the ocean with it, 'oh well' he thought as he took a shower. He looked like crap, but at least he was clean. He left early so that he knew he would for sure be on time to work that day. But luck was not in his favor, as he arrived 10 minutes late for work, due to a huge traffic jam.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Sam said snarkfully.

Deeks kept his head down and didn't say anything.

"For once he's quiet? Call the media! Deeks finally shuts up for the first time in his entire life." Sam continued.

Deeks bit the inside of his cheek and kept silent, Sam often reminded him of his father, the way he would taunt him.

"Mr. Deeks, a word please." Hetty said as she walked into the area with their desks.

Deeks nodded and followed her to her office.

"Mr. Deeks, what happened yesterday was not your fault, he could have recognized anyone else, not just you. I hope that the LAPD didn't keep you too long, as I know they can be quite…challenging."

"They were alright, took me awhile but got things filed and squared away."

"Good, I got your case report this morning, the others have yet to send theirs in. Marty, you are a fine detective, and you would make one hell of an agent one day." She said softly, hinting for him to sign the papers to become an agent.

"No offense Hetty, but as much as I love being here with Nell and Eric…I don't think this is a permanent place for me."

"I see Mr. Deeks...if you ever need a good word put in, especially in DC, let me know."

"Thank you Hetty." Deeks said softly.

"I have a special case for you, I have someone in DC who needs help working with the LAPD and Baltimore PD, it's a crime that took place over several state lines, Senior Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo will land here in LA, in about…6 hours. I want you to work with him. That may include going back to DC if need be. I can make arrangements for Monty if need be."

"That wont be necessary…Monty passed a bit back. He got sick, and had to be put down rather quickly, as letting him continue on would have been cruel."

"Oh Mr. Deeks, that is quite a tragedy, I am sorry for your loss. Monty was a wonderful animal, and good for you."

"Thank you Hetty, it's hard to not have him to come home to after a rough day. He was my best friend." He said with tears starting to come to his eyes. He pushed them away almost instantly and gave her a small smile "is that everything?"

"I want you to go over evidence with Nell until Mr. DiNozzo arrives, so just head right on up there, no need to go to your desk." She said with a nod.

Deeks nodded and did as told.

"Hey Nell. What do you got for me?" he asked as he walked in.

"Hey Deeks, I have a case file on a cartel with ties to LAPD and Baltimore PD. DiNozzo can fill you in on the connection out there. But out here, there have been over 25 murders, 5 of which were Naval personal and their families, and 3 were Marines. We're not sure how that is all connected, but we assume that there must be some illegal activates happening. I have names, bank accounts, addresses and everything, just read through it all, I also have pulled the LAPD's files, which are on the table beside you, warning- its quite a bit. If this operation is successful, a moderate sized cartel will have been shut down, and justice found for 8 military personnel's remaining families, and the families of over 200 other people."

Deeks nodded, it felt like a case that should have been given to someone like Callen or Sam. Setting his thoughts aside, he sat down and read everything, things went back as far as 8 years prior, and the cartel its self, went back 15. The last two deaths had put it all on NCIS's radar.

Around mid afternoon, Hetty introduced DiNozzo to Deeks. Hetty felt that the two would have a good bond- both had troubled childhoods and grew up without a stable father figure. Both had also gone through a lot recently. It was no secret that Gibbs had run off to Mexico after he lost his memory, and it was also no secret how SFA DiNozzo had issues with his team, issues being that they did not respect him or his leadership position and continued to treat him badly and did not come to his backup when he needed them.

The case file had landed on her desk two days prior. She was contemplating who to assign when the events of yesterday went down, the agents all had their mics on, everyone had heard them blame Deeks and say some harsh things to him, all which he took and replied, "I'm sorry." very softly and genuinely.

When the two men met, it was like looking into a mirror, they could both see the pain and the mask that hid it quite well. Both men had their differences, but similarities. Both were jokesters at times, 'fancied' the ladies and hid a lot of their personal issues beneath false personas that no one ever thought to look past.

After debriefing, the two went to LAPD to talk to the higher ups before going and starting an investigation. When the rest of the team heard that Deeks got a special assignment, one of them pointed out, "he's not even an agent, how doe he even have jurisdiction?" Hetty heard and told them, "he may not carry the same badge as you Mr. Hanna, but he has done his best to uphold the law, and carry the standards that our agency has, if you have a problem with my decision for him to work as a Liaison between two offices, please take it up in a written complaint and have it on my desk, other wise get back to work with your case reports, you owe me at least 6 from the last week or so."

"I bet Deeks isn't even near done, he's always talking." Kensi added once she thought Hetty was gone.

"Miss Blye, for your information, Mr. Deeks has twice the amount of paperwork that you agents have, and he has turned all of it in to both agencies earlier than all of you. And I would suggest that you stop being so negative to your fellow teammate, its not very good for trust/ teamwork."

"Deeks isn't even here." Callen pointed out.

Hetty simply gave them all a look, which had them scattering to do work. They all shook their heads; Hetty always came to Deek's aid, every time. It was pathetic; he could never stand up for himself.

The rest of the day was spent filling out paperwork, while Deeks got down to work and started chipping away at the file.

By the next day, DiNozzo and Deeks got a lot done, and made about 8 arrests, with the help of LAPD, they then brought down one entire section of business within a few hours, and by the end of the week, the LA division of the cartel had been brought down. DiNozzo was massively impressed with Deeks, he worked hard, and was serious when needed. He learned about how the cop didn't fit in at LAPD or NCIS. That's when he made the offer for MCRT. Deeks kept it in consideration, he loved his ocean far too much to leave it, nor could he give up his flannels and trade those in for suits 24/7.

While they worked hard in LA, the other agents, Gibbs and his team worked hard in DC and Baltimore, the whole cartel was brought down in a matter of hours. Over 95 arrests where made, all of them doing at least 15 years in a federal prison.

During the entire case, which took about a week, he felt sick. He passed it off as stress but after he waved his new best friend off, he felt dizzy and nauseous. Getting back to his apartment, he threw up in the toilet and passed out on his bathroom floor.

It was 10 am on a Monday that Nell began to worry; Deeks was over 2 hours late for work. She called him twice already but he had yet to answer. Hetty was then informed. Nell made the decision to go over and check on him, she did have an emergency key if ever needed. Eric traced Deek's phone and realized that he had not moved in over 17 hours, or 9 pm the night prior.

Nell hurried there and knocked on the door. Getting no response, she went in. what she saw was an unconscious Deeks in front of his toilet, on his back. She had Eric call a bus. Deek's pulse was faint and slow. She went with the paramedics. They gave him an IV and oxygen. Once in the hospital, he was taken back to be examined, it took an hour but Nell sat there all alone, waiting.

"Mr. Deeks has a severe infection from what appears to be a gun shot wound." The doctor said softly.

Nell's jaw dropped. Deeks had been shot!

"We think that it is about a week or two old, and that he or someone else removed the bulled and stitched it. By the scaring, it looks like he did it. It seems that there was more damage than he realized, he must have passed It off as just being sore, but the muscle was torn and the bone was chipped, he was hit in the bicep, the bullet had gone in at an angle and we will need to surgically remove it. It'll be a two hour procedure, we will remove it; fix the muscle before sewing him back up properly. We also have him on antibiotics; we're hoping that the fever will go down. Right now he's at about 104.3"

Nell nodded. She then informed Hetty who was quite Livid. She had Eric review the case video of the shootout. At one point, you can hear Deeks hiss in pain and say. "Fucking hell, son of a bitch hit me" but no one questioned it or thought twice during the shootout. Hetty then watched has the teammates left Deeks, bleeding and alone. He stumbled but found his way to the LAPD dicks and managed to entertain them for quite awhile. She put it together and realized that Mr. Deeks had been bleeding that entire time, and it wasn't until he got home, which his phone showed around 3.5 hours later, that he stitched himself up. Hetty closed the evidence and then called the team of 3 up.

"I am very disappointed in your actions as a team. You failed your other team member. Not only was he hurt in the line of duty, you disregarded him, and left him to find his own way home after he spent a good amount of time dealing with LAPD." Hetty said with discipline.

"What are you talking about Hetty?" Kensi asked.

"Mr. Deeks was shot in the arm. He said that he had been hit, and it is well documented. He said, and I quote, " Fucking Hell, son of a bitch hit me." you all stormed off rather quickly once the shoot out ended. He dealt with LAPD for almost 4 hours while bleeding, I am not pleased with them either, let it be known. But here at NCIS, we have a higher sense of teamwork and close-knit relationships. It has come to my knowledge that many of you disregard Mr. Deeks as just a cop. But he is quite more. Not only does he get the NCIS paper work done and given to me, he does it very thoroughly and on a timely manner, he then does his LAPD set of paperwork which must be done to their standards and differently from how we do it. He also in his spare times takes cases and represents people as a public defender. He also helps out at the animal shelter and with at risk kids, all while juggling our demanding schedule. You have not seen him as an equal, simply as a thorn in your side, for the last several years. I know Mr. Deeks hates LAPD and his captain, they aren't very nice people, and they have put him in many dangerous situations without backup, and a care. Here at NCIS, we value our agents; they are exceptional at what they do. He has all the qualities of a fine agent, but he has not put in the paper work to be an agent. Something holds him back, and I believe that is you all. He doesn't feel welcome here; you belittle him on a regular basis. While his "jokes" seem immature, it is with a light heart and with a troubled youth that he tries to be the person he needed as a child. You do not know much of his past, and if you only knew, perhaps you would be less of a, how do I say this nicely, asshole.

Mr. Deeks takes his job very seriously, while it may not seems so. This past week, he has been on special assignment. He and a DC agent took down an entire section of a cartel here, before the agent went home to finish the job out there. They brought down the entirety of the Montereos Cartel." Hetty said.

The three agents stood silently, they hadn't realized any of which Hetty said, until now. They knew they were harsh at times, but it was apart of the hazing…which lasted almost 3 years now. It was then that they realized they were in the wrong. Callen and Kensi realized they had messed up, and they had to make it right.

"Is there a way we can make it up to him?" Kensi asked.

"Right now he is in surgery to fix the damage, Mr. Deeks thought it was wise to sew himself up and remove the bullet. It was worse than he realized, otherwise he hadn't done a bad job." Hetty said softly, with a slight smirk towards the end. She knew Deeks was a strong man, that's why she wanted him as an agent.

"oh… Does Monty need anything? A walk? Food? To go out and go potty?" Kensi asked.

"Ms. Blye, Monty has been no longer with us for quite a while now. Mr. Deeks only told me a short while ago."

"what? He's been gone for a while? Why didn't he say something?"

"He didn't feel welcome in your team. You outcasted him on a basis, he was made to feel that everything he went through was not that bad, because he was "not a SEAL" or a "real agent". He felt that his feelings were invalid because of that."

"oh." Kensi Said softly.

"we…we didn't mean to…hurt him."

"but you Have, Mr. Hanna. You must make amends soon or this agency, and team may lose a damn good agent."

"How is he? What's his condition?" Kensi asked, worried.

"He has a severe infection, and the muscle has damage, he should be okay to return to duty once he is healed. The high fever he has is worrisome but once it is back within normal range, he should be fine. He seems responsive to antibiotics, so he should be fine."

"thats good." Callen said softly, joining the conversation. He thought he knew Deeks pretty well, Hetty had given him his file and he had read everything, well what he thought was everything. He knew deeks had it rough, he had been in the system a bit, but he didn't know about his father, or why he was in the system.

Kensi had known that Deeks had a not so clean bak ground, but she never knew the details, she didn't ask, he didn't tell. She wasn't one for sharing her past, and she didn't see the reason to ask Deeks anything, but in this moment, she saw that she had done wrong. She thought back to their interactions and realized that he had acted and responded much like a child that had been abused would.

Deeks had the right amount of stubbornness and being outspoken while he would also quiet down and let dominating personalities take over. Deeks would stand up to her and Callen respectfully and offer his opinion and give them a different side of things when things couldn't be figured out, being a cop gave him experience and situations that most of the teem had not had.

While the team may have gone undercover countless times, they always had back up, and resources to make it. Deeks never had that privilege. He always had to have his own back, and that led him to be creative, and make it all on his own without any outside help. Most times it went fine, and nothing happened, but there was always the rare time where he got in serious trouble and had no resources to help him. His life was on the line, and he always got himself off the line and back to safety.

His life was currently on the line, but modern medicine insured that he would be okay. His friendships…those were in question. Had they previously existed, that was a good question, but now the state of them was in question.

When Deeks woke up, he would have several decisions to make. Would he stay in LA? Would he stay with LAPD and NCIS? Would he trade in his surf board and beach for the streets of the Nation's Capital?

The fate of the LAPD NCIS Liaison Laid in his own hands, but only time would tell what his Decisions would be.

 **THE END**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, this story received a lot of love, a LOT. and there was a demand to find out what happened afterwards the cliffhanger was too much for many of you. Well, it is today that I come to you with part two. There may even be a part three if this goes well…..**

 **Version one includes a gay relationship. Apparently you don't need a disclaimer for a heterosexual relationship but you do for a gay one. Y'all are too sensitive but OK. Its 2017 and I didn't know people still hated us gays. Also all the people who were pissy about it didn't leave a name, so really you can hide behind your screen all you want. I can understand how it can make some comfortable but it is not like I made them have sex, it was more of an emotional connection than physical. That is exactly how I was with my girlfriend. We met at work, we grew close and dated.**

 **Later Haters. Dont like, dont waste both of our time. 😘**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS LA or NCIS**

 **Version One**

Hetty sat at the bedside of her LAPD liaison for quite awhile. It took him about a day and a half to wake up. He requested that no one be allowed in his room to visit- only Nell, Eric and Hetty. Nell expressed how sorry the others felt and how they wanted to make it up to him. But deep down, Deeks knew that nothing they would say or do could make up for it. They didn't see him as an equal, and left him on the line. He had to get himself out of danger and to safety on his own.

He'd expect the disrespect from LAPD, they weren't good to him anyway, and he always had his own back. But for a federal Agency to show so much disrespect and attitude to a fellow law enforcement officer, was beyond messed up. Sure he didn't have Agent training, but he was just as good as them. Kensi was a good sniper, and OK at undercover work, but thats all she had for herself other than being able to fight. Sam was good at being brute force, hand to hand combat, undercover work, and shooting, as well as speaking a few languages. Callen was good at all of this, and spoke 4 languages- English, Russian, Serbian, and Portuguese.

Desks however had something they didn't, he never had backup. He learned how to speak Spanish, German, Russian (which was completely a secret), Portuguese and English, and some ASL ( or American Sign Language).

He was released from the hospital a day later, where he went straight to LAPD and resigned. He then put in a letter to Hetty, and went through his stuff. Soon it was all sorted, some of it in storage, and the rest in a bag. From there he called Tony and said he was interested in a job. By that evening, Deeks was on a plane and on his way to Washington. Nell and Eric knew his plans, and kept what they could from the team. Nell was going to move into Deek's apartment for the time being, as he wanted to keep it and didn't want it to be empty while he was gone. Nell's lease was up anyways so she and Deeks worked out an agreement.

Hetty received the paperwork and sighed. She had just lost a man she didn't want to lose. Sending for Nell, she had the young woman clear Deek's desk once the team was gone that evening. She then poured some bourbon in a glass and swirled it gently, times were hard, and she lost one of her best assists to another division. She then put in a request for another agent, it was temporary, she wanted her man back and she'd let him come back on his own time.

Deeks temporarily stayed with Tony until he figured things out. Deeks went through training, led by Tony and several other people from NCIS. By the end of his training, he was put on another team, but it was in the same building as Tony, in the desks next to him. The two never had to go far to talk.

6 months in to his new life in DC, he was sent to LA on a case. He did everything he could to skate around having to see his old team. He met with Nell and Eric after hours to get information, and to use resources, after all Callen's team wasn't the only team there. He closed his case in a few days, and was allowed an extra day there. He spent the time surfing and going to see all his old friends. A few hours were spent helping in the food shelter and among children. Someone pulled a few strings and got him on the flight to DC through the air force.

He landed in DC in the early hours of the morning. Instead of going back to Tony's he headed straight to work. Trading his flannel and jeans for the suit in his desk, he changed in the bathroom before sitting down to work. Most agents left cold cases to get colder, but he liked working those cases. Between his team and Him, they managed to close 20 cases since he'd been there- far more than they had been solving without him.

Tony and Deeks also bonded on a whole new level. It started with Deeks on the couch, something he was fine with as this wasn't going to be permeant. Their relationship changed along the way. Somehow, they fell along the lines of more than friends. They understood each other on levels most couldn't. If you asked Tony, the only guy he was attracted to was Deeks. Something about the blonde and his surfer like persona was intriguing. In DC, it was apparent the surfer was a bit different from the rest of the political city, but in a way he fit. His team members had his back in and out of the field, and DiNozzo had his back too. Between the two of them on the weekends, they solved a few cold cases over some baseball games, beer and Pizza. Deeks and Tony shared a bed, they had been together for three months before it got even remotely sexual.

When it marked a full year of Deeks in DC, Tony and him celebrated. They went up to New York for a few days where they saw a broadway show. Deeks was having the time of his life. Never had he been so happy before. By the end of their trip, the two came back engaged. While they worked underneath the military, the 'don't ask, don't tell' had been repealed, but the two men kept their relationship on the DL, not making it a big deal at work but to their friends, they were all excited. Abby was excited and wanted to plan the wedding. Much to her dismay, they wanted it very small.

In all, the people at the wedding totaled no more than 15 people. Those people being, Abby, Mcgee (they'd resolved things), Director Vance, Ducky, Jimmy, Eleanor, Gibbs, Hetty, Anthony Senior (who wasn't the most supportive but got over it), Eric, Nell, Director Granger, Nate, and two of Deek's friends- his childhood friend and his friend on the force. It was intimate, but it was perfect. They married on a Friday night, and had dinner at a local restaurant for a reception. Hetty comes and goes as she pleases, so no one really asked where she was. Nate hadn't been in the office for awhile so no one was able to question him. Nell and Eric claimed to be going to a technology conference. Luckily the LA office hadn't caught any cases those few days the team was scattered around.

A year into their marriage, things were great. Deeks was making a name for himself in DC, he worked hard and was ultimately asked to go undercover a lot, and ended up specializing in Undercover work- he was called one of the best. He was good at blending in, or standing out. Between him and his husband, they closed even more cases. Hetty saw how good her former Liaison was doing and wanted him back, but she knew there was no way she could get him back without taking both agents.

However, into the second year, things got bumpy. Deeks spent more and more time on missions and less and less time home. He also began to change, when he was home, he wanted to sleep, and was a bit moodier, but still trying to be himself. Some cases were harder than others and brought out his different demons. One thing he always struggled with was eating. Growing up, he didn't have much food. Going undercover, sometimes food was hard to come by. Overtime, Tony noticed that his husband was getting thinner, but it wasn't due to exercise or eating healthy. After hard cases, it seemed that Deeks would stop eating, and would take a few weeks to get back to normal. There'd be times where he was a normal size, and then others where the man was too thin for his own good. His suits would hang off him like they were two sizes too big. Abby would notice, but she wouldn't say anything. Instead she would bring him cookies, and other special treats. Tony was worried but didn't know how to have the conversation that they needed to have.

It came in the morning, The news was devastating, and couldn't have came at a worse time. Just as Tony found out that his former partner Ziva had died and that he and her had a child, Marty received orders that he was needed in LA as Max Gentry, and literally had no choice to decline. Marty was understanding, he managed to delay his leaving long enough to be there when Tony first met Talia, his daughter. As he boarded his flight West, Deeks was worried about their future. They hadn't talked kids in awhile. Both men wanted a family but didn't think they were ready yet due to their intense work schedule. Deeks knew that their lives were forever changed, and he just hoped he had a husband to come home to.

….

Nearly three and a half weeks in LA, and Deeks already had enough. Max took a lot out of him, and made it hard to go back to being Marty, the transition back was hard. Thankfully Nell and Eric had been monitoring him, and keeping him safe. What Deeks didn't know was that Callen had overwatch. Hetty had given him the job and told him it was to be kept secret that Former Detective Deeks was involved.

On the fourth week, things got a tad hairy, and Deeks got injured. He'd been stabbed, and it was definitely bleeding bad, he was in a rock and a hard place. If he called Hetty for help- he chanced being made, but as he got more light headed, and thought of his husband, he said screw it, and made the call.

Hetty got him stitched up and mend quickly and without much attention. Callen had been the one to go and help him. Deeks was in and out of it, and remembered getting help, but not from who. It ended up being Hetty and Callen's call that he was pulled from the mission- they got everything needed and with approval, Max Gentry died that one night. Unfortunately, with Max's death brought a lot of paperwork to backstop it, and to make the necessary arrests, as well as go through debriefing. It took him an extra week to take care of things, and he had to go through a psych evaluation.

He was diagnosed with PTSD, and put on leave. Hetty had called Vance and asked how Tony was doing. She found out that the other man had put in his final few weeks and was set to take an extended leave for a while, and most likely would retire.

It was a very hard phone call to make, but Deeks had to do it.

"Hey Tony." he said softly.

"Hey Marty, how are you? When are you coming home?"

"I…its rough….things happened on the last mission…I was put on leave…Nate, he diagnosed me with PTSD and I'm supposed to go through therapy until they find that I'm fit for duty."

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, I was stabbed. I called Hetty for help and I got it, I don't remember much, but it was after that, that she and I decided it was time to kill that alias, and Max died. I wont ever have to use him again, and I'm glad. I want to come home, I want to see your little girl, be a family…but I cant. I need to know I'm okay, Max…He, Coming out of him, and returning to me is really hard. I want to come home and be Marty, I don't want Max anywhere near you or Talia."

"How long ago were you stabbed?"

"About a week ago. I've been going through hours of evidence, debriefing and paperwork trying to make sure everything is set. With the stuff I got, we can put away a lot of bad guys, for a very long time."

"I miss you a lot, but I understand why you cant come home yet. We'll be waiting here for you, with open arms and lots of kisses. And Marty, She's your daughter too…she's our daughter." Tony said softly.

It took another two weeks, but Deeks managed to finish all of the paperwork. He'd been hiding from his old team, and using resources when they weren't around. Living with Nell was a good resource too. She helped him with the case, and a few cold cases too.

When Callen showed up at the door, asking for Deeks, Nell panicked. Marty held his nerves together, and faced the other man.

"How are you? I tried to patch you up as best as I could until I could get you to help."

"So I wasn't imagining it, it was you."

"It was me." Callen replied.

"I'm better. Its been about 3 weeks so the stitches are coming out soon, you did a pretty good job stopping the bleeding. It was really sore at first but its healing."

"I want to apologize. I wasn't the team leader you needed when you were on the team, and I should have checked in with you more, and been better at not letting them treat you so badly. You were a valuable asset to our team, and losing you has been something Hetty has never let me forget. You brought a lot to the table, and once you were gone, it was obvious how much of an impact you made, and how much better you made us. I know we cannot change the past, but I would like for you and I to move forward past this. I understand if you cannot."

"G, I've worked with a lot of teams, but I learned a lot, and I met someone while being a Liaison. When I went to DC, I became an agent. But I miss LA, and I miss you guys at times. I think you and I can move forward. We're similar in some ways, as are me and my significant other are. I would like to have a friendship."

By the time Deeks finally returned to DC- 9 weeks after he'd left, he was better. Therapy had helped him face the demons, but he still had to fight on. With a new determination, he had worked through his issues so that he could go home to his family.

Hetty had taken use of having one of her favorite agents within arms reach, and used him for a few small jobs here and there while he was waiting to get the all clear to go home. Callen and Deeks had worked together for the few short ops, and the two had a better relationship. Sam and Kensi had no idea that they were the only ones in the office who didn't know Deeks had been around. Hetty was almost proud of how well she kept them all from crossing paths.

Getting off the plane in DC, Tony and Talia stood waiting for him. Deeks nearly cried at the sight of his husband, he missed him so much. Phone calls and Face time went far, but nothing was like holding the man he loved in his arms. The family got used to being a family, Talia warmed up to Deeks almost immediately, he was really good with kids. Tony was over the moon to see his daughter and his husband building a relationship.

The family moved forward. Tony consulted for cases, but rarely went into the field anymore. Between taking care of Talia and his knee that was giving him more problems than before, he worked the desk. It was a change, but he was glad that he was no longer in immediate danger all the time.

Deeks kept his schedule and his full job. Tony was closer, and old enough to nearly qualify for retirement, or at least working part time. Deeks however, was not. Tony was nearing 43, where as Deeks was closer to 34. The two men didn't care about the slight age gap, it didn't change anything about how they felt about each other. Deeks however did ask to not receive as many undercover jobs, short ones were okay, but he didn't want anything longer than 4 weeks.

When Talia turned 4 (she'd come to them just after her 2nd birthday), Tony realized that raising a baby in an apartment wasn't ideal. There was no yard for her to play, no school near by, and no other small children in the building. While Tony had ties to the East Coast, he saw how much Marty missed LA. The younger man missed his daily morning surf, his sunshine and beach. Tony knew they had a good thing going for them in DC- Marty was nearly trained enough to be given his own team, they had a support system here of friends and everything he knew was here, but California showed promise. The Sunshine State would be better to raise a child. DC was too political for a small child, and Tony didn't want to go back to Baltimore, LA seemed like a reasonable choice.

Tony had looked into schools and everything he wanted to know before he brought it up to Marty. It took a lot of talking and planning, but the couple decided that heading West would be good for them. So with the help of their friends in DC, they packed up everything they wanted to keep and went West. Nell had found herself a place to go while the couple lived in Marty's old apartment until they found a home. Deeks pulled everything he once put in storage out, and got rid of some stuff, and kept important things. It'd been stored for 4, nearly 5 years. Hetty Knew Deeks was on his way by the time Vance had processed his paperwork.

Hetty had sent Deeks a list of homes to check out. It didn't take long, the second home on the list was the one they wanted. It was a two story home, with a three car garage and big yard. There were four bedrooms, and a large kitchen. Hetty had everything drawn up for them and all they had to do was sign. One room was decorated for Talia, it was princess themed, one was an office that had two desks- one for Marty and one for Deeks, snother room was a guest room and the last room was their room.

Once the house was settled, Deeks received his job information from Hetty. He was given his own team that would be ran out of a different office than the main one. It was a bit smaller but had all the same was a Nell and Eric equivalent. Their names were Victoria Fuentes, but everyone called her Vic, or Vicky, and the other was a guy named Tyler Sloane. The two of them were clever and could give Eric and Nell a run for their money.

Deek's team was made up of 3 other agents. Prior to getting the position, Deeks had gotten the titled, 'Senior Filed Agent, His team was two guys and one girl. Michael Perry, Ian Wilder, and Kennedy Rhodes. Their team was good. Michael was a good sniper, Ian was good with languages and people, Kennedy was good with technology and fixing things. Callen helped Deeks with setting up his team and picking agents. Hetty of course had given Deeks the best of the best choices.

The team was soon one of the best, the cases that Callen's team didn't receive, went straight to Deeks. The two men were competitive at being the best team, closing the most cases, and keeping people safe. It wasn't until the two teams needed to work together that Marty got nervous and didn't want to. Callen made it clear to Deeks that he wouldn't allow anything to happen to him, and he wouldn't stand for his team being disrespectful.

Walking into OSP with his team behind him, Marty was nervous but appeared calm on the surface. He greeted Nell and Eric, introduced them to his team. He then joined Callen in Hetty's office. Callen was dismissed and sent off to debrief his team of the changes before meeting with the other team. Callen addressed Sam, Kensi and their third agent, Vinny Olson.

"We are going to be working with the other OSP team that is ran out of our second office. Its newer, but is very successful. Between their team and ours, we have a very high case closure rate. Their leader was one of the best in DC but moved out west to raise his daughter. I've worked with him on past cases and have gone on missions with him, I trust him, I do not want any rivalry, or rudeness to him or his team. They all have worked very hard to get to where they are, and have roadblocks set in their way. They are led by a Mr. Martin D. Dinozzo. I will not tolerate any disrespect or insubordination. Any one who does so will be written up, benched and facing Hetty and Director Vance."

Kensi was about to say, "you make him sound like a VIP." when Deeks walked in with his team behind him. Her jaw dropped. He was this Martin D. Dinozzo.

"Hello, I am Martin D. Dinozzo. Most people still call me Deeks because my Husband is the original Dinozzo from DC. Call me Deeks or Marty." He said with a smile. In a sense, he was loving this. Callen knew the well kept secret, but now he was finally playing his hand, showing his set of cards and by gosh, it was proving to be more fun than he thought. Kensi's jaw was practically on the floor, and Sam was unreadable.

Nor allowing them time to talk, Callen redirected the awkwardness to the case and debriefed what was going to go on. By the end of it, they were all headed to ops before going to the range to get gear.

Vinny and Deeks hit it off pretty well, the younger man was a lot like Eric, but more into heavy rock music. Callen joked at told Deeks, "Don't go stealing my team members. You got some that I wanted, So let me have this one." Deeks rolled his eyes, "I'll let you keep him, he's cool after all, a lot like how you described him. He reminds me of Abby, damn I need to call her soon."

Soon the two teams got information, geared up and sent into the field. Sam was with Ian, Vinny was with Michael, and Kennedy was with Kensi. Deeks and Callen went together and were at the front lines. Eric, Nell, Victoria and Tyler ran ops and had everything set up. Together they were searching through security cameras, social media profiles and anything that could help with the case. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for and send agents to the scene.

They were looking for a kid named Anthony Garza. The kid supposedly knew something important. Apparently he did know something important, so when Sam and Ian found him, he was three days old and smelling awful. He was riddled with bullet holes, and his apartment was ransacked.

Victoria and Tyler found a way into Anthony's online persona and searched for anything that could explain who killed him. They then sent Kensi and Kennedy to interview the girlfriend, Melanie. Dom Melanie, they found out that Anthony had been on the dark web selling drugs. Whoever he pissed off was now gone, not to be traced or ever found.

Callen and Deeks managed to find Anthony's brother, which opened up what gangs were behind this. It wasn't good, it would soon be an all out war between gangs. Deeks reached out to his contacts and found out that there were multiple gangs involved. Some were allied and some were not, meaning it was bigger than they thought. Deeks sighed, in a case like this, Max Gentry would be a good asset to find information. Calling Hetty, he told her that Max needed to be revived. Deeks knew how dangerous the situation was, that's why he refused to let anyone else go under with him. His agents were good, but they weren't ready to go under with people like this, they were at the start of their careers and he did not want them getting hurt or killed in the line of duty while under his command.

Hetty provided the clothes and space so that Deeks could become Max. When Max died several years ago, he never expected to need him. It scared him how fast things came back to him. He practiced talking, walking, standing and how he carried himself. By the time he left the office, He wasn't recognizable as Deeks anymore.

Callen ran overwatch, as did Ops. Max got restituted in LA life, before heading to the center where everything was. People where wary, they had heard he died. The story that he went with was that he had been stabbed, so he spread rumors that he died, and went east. New York was fun for a long while, but he moved on to Miami where he spent some time in the sun before heading to several states on his way to California. Finding out what he needed, he came out of the op feeling a lot of emotions. Pushing those aside, they used what he discovered to stop the gang war. There was over 100 arrests from multiple gangs, and balance was restored to the streets of LA again, which meant the case was now closed.

Sam had seen Deeks as a leader and at first he thought that the man would be incompetent, but Deeks proved him wrong. Deeks had proved that he was a good agent, a good man, and a great leader. The safety of his team members was always his priority, and no one went alone or loan wolf on a mission. The team fit like a family, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and knew how to adjust and adapt to everything that came their way. Seeing Deeks there was a huge shock, especially to find out that the man was married- that to former SFA Anthony Dinozzo no less, and they had a kid was astounding to the man. Time had truly changed things. For Sam, his wife had been killed, his son's school had been under attack at one point in San Francisco, and now he was a single father with two kids.

Kensi was shocked too. Deeks had always seemed like the joker, the non serious type, the follower not the leader, had his own team. Kensi wouldn't lie, she had dreamt of getting her own team for awhile. To see her former partner have what she wanted was a bit anger inducing. She thought she would hold more value, as she had been an agent longer but Deeks apparently impressed a lot of people in DC and got whatever he wanted, included a team in California- which just so happened to be close to their office. Deeks as a leader was weird. While the man had the natural warm and humor filled persona, as a leader, he was strong, caring but also adaptable. The longer she saw her former partner in action, she realized the more he deserved the job. He was good with his team, and built them up, making them better agents. As a whole, the team seemed to be very, very good at what they do.

When Deeks went home to Tony and Talia, he was exhausted. Max always left him emotional and tired. Tony knew to let his husband have some space while coming out of Max, and knew Marty would be fine once he got through his demons. Marty went for a run, took a shower and then watched his husband and child play, and knew everything would be okay. Joining them on the floor, he sat and played with them. At bed time, he and Tony put Talia to bed before they retired to their room. Marty lay in the bed, he'd put on his sleep pants when he got out of the shower earlier, and watched Tony move around the room. The other man had gone into the bathroom but left the door open as he brushed his teeth and washed his face. He then turned off the bathroom light and closed the door before heading to their closet where he grabbed his pajamas and changed. Once he was done, he moved to the bed where Marty lay on top of the covers. Getting in, Tony poked Marty's side until he too got under the covers.

Together they laid there and talked about everything that had happened.

"It was hard at first, seeing my old team. But walking in there, knowing I had a higher rank then them- knowing I had an amazing team that had my back, I was confident. Going in as max was hard, but I did it to protect the others. I hated every moment of it, but I knew it had to be done. When we closed that case, I was glad. We could go back to our office and carry on."

"Did they say anything to you?" Tony asked.

"I made sure that they were always partnered with one of mine, or one of their's but not me. Having Callen as an Ally is good. Back then, I never thought he and I could have a good relationship like this, but Hetty has showed him that apparently I am a very good asset to the team, and even if i'm not her main team, I'm one of her best teams."

"When I met you, you were the odd man out, the one who they picked on, the one who was going around with a GSW sewn up in your bathroom yourself. Even if you were off your game due to that wound, you were still a good cop. I know how hard it is jumping ship. I loved Baltimore PD until I didn't. When I became an agent, I learned a lot, I became a better investigator. I met a lot of people, people who are no longer with us now. Kate and I got on like cats and dogs for the longest time, but we always had each other's backs. When she…when she died, it was hard to see anyone else fill her seat. Ziva was one of a kind. She was smart, and a brilliant marksmen and fighter. But she and I again didn't see eye to eye. It took time, but she and I became good friends, and she was the mother of Talia. Mcgee is a good man even if he is really nerdy and moody. Gibbs, it took a lot for me to come back around. When I did though, and we mended our relationship, he was like the father I never had. Anthony Sr. has always been problematic and looking out for himself, Gibbs tried to do me right, and give me that figure I needed. What I'm trying to say here is that all these people that I know and love, I would have never met if I hadn't gone down the paths I did.

Had you not become an agent, I would have never met you. Had you not become a cop, you would never have been a liaison. We would have never met. Had you not gotten shot, you would not have taken my offer for MCRT. You are one of the best agents I know. You deserve to have your own team. You do so much more for them. You've become family with them, we've become a family.

Thank you for being the best husband, for being the best father to Talia, for loving me and taking me as I am. I love you Marty, I do. I know coming home from Max is hard, we all have that one alias that is rough. While I know I can never change that, I can be here for you when you come home, and remind you how much I love you, and how much you mean to me."

"You're such an emotional sap. I love you Tony." Deeks smiled at the end of Tony's speech. Rolling over closer, Deeks kissed him gently before getting comfy.

"You know you love it." Tony teased.

"Yes I do." Deeks smiled at him. Together they fell asleep, ready for the next day, whatever it brought.

 **A/N: That was over 5,580 words! I wanted this to go from where the previous point in time through the years. If I remember right, and did the math right, there is a 7ish year time difference from the start of this story to the end. I didn't want to cover every single moment, but enough to where the story flowed. The end is a bit sappy because it is well the end, and I wanted to show Tony in the relationship and how he progressed through the years, especially in his relationship with Deeks.**

 **And before anyone tries to say it, this is a bit OOC for some people, then again it is slightly AU. While both Tony and Deeks are portrayed as Ladies's men, I believe that when you meet someone and its right, then its right. Tony and Deeks are similar characters in a sense, they both are reference making, movie watching romantic guys. So to me, I think they had potential to grow together.**

 **This is Version 1, meaning that if there is a demand, I will make a Version Two, which will again start with the end of Chapter 1, and will be different. I'm thinking about making 3 or four total versions so that there is 5 chapters total. Again let me know if you want that by leaving a review. it will be an automatic version two if I get like 4 reviews in general….so hit that review button!**

 **Till next time!**


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